The fourth edition of the MatchMaking Day of MediaMatters took place on Friday May 25 in VondelCS in Amsterdam. Nine Dutch media companies and twelve startups from nine countries got to know each other and discussed possible cooperation. The result was impressive: a total of 23 matches were made, which should lead to follow-up talks.

Click on the video below for a video impression of the Matchmaking Day.

For the startups the event started the night before with feedback on their elevator pitch. In the morning, the startups and scale-ups were further prepared for their pitch for the media companies. A critical look was taken at their presentation, but also at their proposition and added value for the media companies. MediaMatters also gave a brief overview of the state of the Dutch media industry.

In the afternoon, after the pitches, dozens of talks followed between the media companies present (NPO, AVROTROS, Talpa Network, RTL Nederland, ANP, United, Bindinc and Groene Amsterdammer) and the startups. 23 matches were made, ranging from "interesting, we definitely need to talk further" to "we're definitely going to do business". The first follow-up talks will take place the coming week.

Photo above: a match between news agency ANP (right) and the Belgian scale-up Limecraft (photo: Lex van Lieshout)

One of the startups present, Clotify from Poland, was very pleased with the event. Co-founder Matt Szurek: "I think it was brilliant. It's exactly how it should be put together. Not a lot of startups and a lot of potential partners all together in one place in a very friendly, cosy atmosphere. Without any competition so that everybody can feel relaxed and have a one-to-one dialogue to get the most out of it. So I love the venue and I love the way it was organized."

Photo above: Matt Szurek of Clotify talking to representatives of Talpa Network (photo: Lex van Lieshout)

MediaMatters organises the Matchmaking Days twice a year for Dutch media companies. The next edition will be November 22 and 23, so save the date! MediaMatters constantly scouts startups and scale-ups that have innovative solutions relevant to media companies. We already have a database of 1,500 startups and scale-ups. MediaMatters also organizes international events, like speed dating between the news agencies of MINDS International and startups, at the IBC in Amsterdam and in Belgium.